The filamentous fungus Penicillium chrysogenum is used for the industrial production of β-lactam antibiotics. The pathway for β-lactam biosynthesis has been resolved and involves the enzyme phenylacetic acid CoA ligase that is responsible for the CoA activation of the side chain precursor phenylacetic acid (PAA) that is used for the biosynthesis of penicillin G. To identify ABC transporters related to β-lactam biosynthesis, we analyzed the expression of all 48 ABC transporters present in the genome of P. chryso-genum when grown in the presence and absence of PAA. ABC40 is significantly upregulated when cells are grown or exposed to high levels of PAA. Although deletion of this transporter did not affect β-lactam biosynthesis, it resulted in a significant increase in sensitivity to PAA and other weak acids. It is concluded that ABC40 is involved in weak acid detoxification in P. chrysogenum including resistance to phenylacetic acid.
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